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Complications of ultrasound guided very small-bore chest drains for pleural effusions of different etiology

Samuelsson, Sebastian ; Karlin, Fridolf and Ekström, Magnus LU orcid (2024) In Journal of Thoracic Disease 16(3). p.1866-1874
Abstract

Background: Small-bore chest drains are now the most common drains for treating pleural effusion (PE), but knowledge on complications is limited especially in malignant PE and empyema. We aimed to evaluate rate of complications of ultrasound guided small bore chest drains [6–10 French (F)] by PE etiology. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 484 chest drains inserted in 330 adults in a Swedish department 2018–2020. Rate of complications (blockage, dislocation, infection, or misplacement) and repeat intervention (new drain within 2 weeks or surgery) was analyzed by effusion type (organ failure, parapneumonic, malignant, empyema, other, unknown), age, sex, seniority of radiologist, and bore size using multivariable logistic regression.... (More)

Background: Small-bore chest drains are now the most common drains for treating pleural effusion (PE), but knowledge on complications is limited especially in malignant PE and empyema. We aimed to evaluate rate of complications of ultrasound guided small bore chest drains [6–10 French (F)] by PE etiology. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 484 chest drains inserted in 330 adults in a Swedish department 2018–2020. Rate of complications (blockage, dislocation, infection, or misplacement) and repeat intervention (new drain within 2 weeks or surgery) was analyzed by effusion type (organ failure, parapneumonic, malignant, empyema, other, unknown), age, sex, seniority of radiologist, and bore size using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Most inserted drains (73.3%) were 6 F. The rate of repeat intervention was substantially higher in malignant PE [25.5%; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–6.8] and empyema (56.4%; aOR 11.9; 95% CI: 4.8–29.4) compared to other aetiologies (range, 9.5–17.8%). Surgery as complication occurred in empyema in 23.0% of cases (aOR 10.6; 95% CI: 1.4–79.4). The rate of repeat intervention in simple PE (parapneumonic or due to organ failure) was low (range, 9.5–12.5%). Conclusions: A single small-bore chest drain (6–10 F) was successful in the vast majority of simple PEs, but had high complication rates in empyema with frequent need of additional drains or surgery. These findings support use of larger drains and early consultation with a thoracic surgeon in empyema.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
haemothorax, hydrothorax, malignant pleural effusions (malignant PEs), Pleural effusion (PE), pleural empyema
in
Journal of Thoracic Disease
volume
16
issue
3
pages
9 pages
publisher
AME Publishing Company
external identifiers
  • pmid:38617756
  • scopus:85188927219
ISSN
2072-1439
DOI
10.21037/jtd-23-1457
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1acf3a59-daa7-41e8-aafd-34a2d43ea64f
date added to LUP
2024-04-15 13:07:01
date last changed
2024-04-16 03:00:12
@article{1acf3a59-daa7-41e8-aafd-34a2d43ea64f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Small-bore chest drains are now the most common drains for treating pleural effusion (PE), but knowledge on complications is limited especially in malignant PE and empyema. We aimed to evaluate rate of complications of ultrasound guided small bore chest drains [6–10 French (F)] by PE etiology. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 484 chest drains inserted in 330 adults in a Swedish department 2018–2020. Rate of complications (blockage, dislocation, infection, or misplacement) and repeat intervention (new drain within 2 weeks or surgery) was analyzed by effusion type (organ failure, parapneumonic, malignant, empyema, other, unknown), age, sex, seniority of radiologist, and bore size using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Most inserted drains (73.3%) were 6 F. The rate of repeat intervention was substantially higher in malignant PE [25.5%; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–6.8] and empyema (56.4%; aOR 11.9; 95% CI: 4.8–29.4) compared to other aetiologies (range, 9.5–17.8%). Surgery as complication occurred in empyema in 23.0% of cases (aOR 10.6; 95% CI: 1.4–79.4). The rate of repeat intervention in simple PE (parapneumonic or due to organ failure) was low (range, 9.5–12.5%). Conclusions: A single small-bore chest drain (6–10 F) was successful in the vast majority of simple PEs, but had high complication rates in empyema with frequent need of additional drains or surgery. These findings support use of larger drains and early consultation with a thoracic surgeon in empyema.</p>}},
  author       = {{Samuelsson, Sebastian and Karlin, Fridolf and Ekström, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{2072-1439}},
  keywords     = {{haemothorax; hydrothorax; malignant pleural effusions (malignant PEs); Pleural effusion (PE); pleural empyema}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{1866--1874}},
  publisher    = {{AME Publishing Company}},
  series       = {{Journal of Thoracic Disease}},
  title        = {{Complications of ultrasound guided very small-bore chest drains for pleural effusions of different etiology}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jtd-23-1457}},
  doi          = {{10.21037/jtd-23-1457}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}